A variety of techniques and apparatuses have been used to satisfy the requirements of automated currency processing. As the number of businesses that deal with large quantities of paper currency grow, such as banks, casinos and armored carriers, these businesses are continually requiring not only that their currency be processed more quickly but, also, processed with greater accuracy and with more efficiency.
Commonly, in the processing of currency at a bank, for example, cash deposits are first received and verified by a bank teller. The cash deposit is later sorted according to denomination. Finally, the sorted bills are bundled or strapped in stacks of a predetermined number of bills (often one hundred bills).
Select bills are often removed from circulation based on minimum bill fitness criteria established by the Federal Reserve, such as that set forth in Operating Circular No. 2, dated Jan. 8, 1998, and “Fitness Standards For Federal Reserve Notes,” promulgated by the Currency Technology Office of the Federal Reserve on Jul. 22, 2004. Fitness is one factor for determining if a bill should be taken out of circulation. The Federal Reserve requires that deposits of currency must be in bundles of 1,000 notes of the same denomination in ten equal straps of 100 notes and the depositing banks are further required to piece count, verify authenticity, and assemble fit, unfit, and non-machinable currency prior to deposit. Banks are not credited the amount of the deposit until accepted by the Federal Reserve and the credit is subject to any difference, counterfeit, or other irregularity detected when the deposit is verified by the Federal Reserve.